


Chrysalis

by Lilyliegh



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Gen, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 16:01:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9190778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilyliegh/pseuds/Lilyliegh
Summary: In the midst of a interdimensional duel between the Fusion and Xyz Dimensions, Sayaka struggles to remain peaceful and nonviolent, even when those close to her are losing their lives.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [colorfulwatcher](https://archiveofourown.org/users/colorfulwatcher/gifts).



> Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and I hope you have a wonderful winter!

She feels the explosion before she hears it: a blast of energy that tears through the city, ripping apart the earth beneath her feet, and sending her and Ruri flying across the courtyard. Sayaka braces herself with her hands, but she still ends up face-first in the dusty ground just as her ears pick up the deafening booms of the Chaos Ancient Gear Giant’s guns. Her eyes can’t seem to focus on the hazy shapes blurred in the dusty air, yet she squints through dirty glasses to see her friend.

“Ruri? Ruri!” she calls out, heart thumping in her chest. Where is her friend? Where did she fly off to? They were right next to each other, inches apart –

Fingers catch on hers. “Sayaka! Sayaka!” she hears. “Oh goodness, you’re here. You’re OK. I – I don’t know what’s happening.”

Sayaka doesn’t either. Her heart pounds to the rhythm of the duel monsters’ feet crushing the houses beneath them. The dirt and dust have cleared just enough for Sayaka to see what remains of her beautiful gem of a city: Heartland Tower in flames; shops and buildings torn from the ground and tossed about the cracked streets; people screaming in horror as menacing soldiers in blue, Academia uniforms advance on them with modified, lethal duel disks.

At first, Sayaka sees the lights flickering in the corner of her vision and she thinks of salvation. She remembers the cheery, bright colours of Heartland City at night, and the smiles that her home has brought her. She remembers the pop of lights metamorphosing into kaleidoscopic murals across the skyscape, and her heart soars on rejuvenated wings.

And then she sees the monochromatic colour – pink, like a muted rage – that flashes as innocent civilians are captured by Academia soldiers and turned into duel monsters cards. Moments later, a duelist will attempt to fight them, but they will be carded long before a Chaos Ancient Gear Giant has a chance to step on their puny corpse. When the lights next catch in Sayaka’s eyes, she shivers and closes them, willing herself not to see the destruction of her hometown.

“Sayaka, we have to go! Sayaka!” Ruri cries. Sayaka feels herself being pulled to her feet, but she leans back and squeezes her eyes shut. The hand in hers only tightens and pulls harder. “Sayaka, come _on_!”

The words don’t shake her of her paralysis, but they do get her feet moving just enough for Ruri to drag her down what feels like streets and through alleyways that may have once felt safe. Nothing feels safe now. Sayaka feels deep within her bones a mounting dread that the soldiers won’t leave until they are all carded – until every last Xyz citizen is dead – and even then Sayaka can’t imagine what will happen next. Will Academia move on to kill more? Will soldiers take control of Heartland City? What will she even _do_ if she survives?

If Ruri is saying anything to her, Sayaka can’t hear it through the pounding in her ears. All Sayaka can feel in the soul-slamming power of the duel monsters moving the core of the earth, and the zap of magic as everyone around her loses their souls.

Ruri drags her deep into the centre of the city, places where Sayaka has never dreamed of visiting. They pass other Heartland residents, but despite the bleakness of the situation, no one bothers to look at one another. The city has dissolved in absolute panic. Sayaka herself can hardly keep her eyes focused enough to gather information about where Ruri is taking her, though when they do stop it’s with resulting peril.

Sayaka can tell that the person before them isn’t a Heartland citizen. Despite their flashy, bright get-up of royal purple robes, Sayaka spots the militaristic similarity to the Academia uniform and she freezes. Nausea rises in her throat and this time it’s her squeezing Ruri’s hand for dear life.

“Academia,” she hears Ruri say.

Then there’s another sound: laughter. Sayaka thinks she might be hearing things at first - how could _anyone_ be laughing at a time like this? – but then she catches the mad glimmer in the boy’s eyes. He’s not joking; he is dead serious. Sayaka shivers and goes to close her eye again. _Why can’t they just_ escape _–_

Ruri lets go of her hand. Sayaka attempts to snatch it back, fingers grabbing for thin air. Ruri, with all the confidence of a monarch, makes a dash to the side, maybe to catch the boy’s attention long enough for Sayaka to escape. Sayaka runs forward, desperate to follow Ruri. She doesn’t want to leave her friend, doesn’t want to have to face this by herself, but Ruri appears to have an agenda of her own, and one that appears to keep Sayaka save by sacrificing herself.

She spins around, duel disk activated, ready to fight. Sayaka catches the heavenly glow fall on her friend as the duel begins, only Sayaka can’t stop it. Her fingers ghost her own duel disk, but she can’t bring herself to intrude on the duel. The pink lights in her eyes burst, blinding her, and it’s only when she opens them that the sky is dark.

Everything is dark.

Where Ruri had been standing is empty. Paces down from her, the boy too is missing. Sayaka’s eyes tear through the destruction – which is still going on, but her _best friend is missing where is she where has she gone Ruri where are you why’d you leave_ . Sayaka takes a heaving breath and lets it out in a deep, gut-wrenching sob. Tears stream down her eyes as she catches herself on the side of a building; when her legs cannot keep her upright, she slides down the side and sobs harder. A part of her tells her to keep running, keep moving, but Sayaka thinks that no one will find her down here. It was coincidence _he_ was here; Academia is leagues away, terrorizing the main populace that panics in the city centre.

Thankfully, the sound of the duel monsters mutes every other scream. Sayaka covers her ears even when she cannot hear a thing, and she closes her eyes to the world. It’s warm and cosy; she tucks into her mind, focuses on the heartbeat of the world and the breath of the city.

_Ruri, can you hear me? It’s me, Sayaka. I can’t fight. I can’t do this._

Somehow, she opens her eyes – or, somehow Kaito manages to shake her awake which forces her to open her eyes. She doesn’t see him first though; no, he’s to her side and jarring her shoulder from side to side, and Sayaka can only recognise it’s him because he’s wearing the galaxy-tights he had on for party that day. No, the first thing Sayaka sees is the burning buildings ahead of her, orange flames licking up to a dark, stormy, and smoke-clogged sky.

“Open your eyes, Sayaka! The city is fucking burning. Come on!”

It’s mean to be kind – probably – and what makes Sayaka follow him, just like she followed Ruri, is the desperation in his voice. He doesn’t take her hand. Once his hand is off her shoulder, he waits just long enough for her to sense that she needs to follow him before he takes off down the muddy street. Stumbling to her feet, Sayaka follows him. Her hearing is long-gone, so if he’s saying anything - as if anyone has been saying anything to her – Sayaka hears nothing. She follows him, faithful that he’ll lead her to salvation. She follows him, faithful they’ll be other survivors.

Kaito leads her through rubble. She can’t close her eyes or else she’ll trip over the slabs of building and upturned dirt that are scattered across the sidewalks. Ahead of her, Kaito is quick and nimble, hopping over the debris like it’s pebbles beneath his boots. He darts through several more empty alleyways before he turns abruptly away from the city, away from it all, and into the forest.

Sayaka stops for a moment, hovering at the edge of the city. She wishes she could explain herself, and Kaito could explain himself too. She wishes she could ask where Kaito is going and what is happening. But she can’t. She can’t hear anything. Kaito must have heard her stop walking though, for he turns around and glares at her. When she doesn’t move, he opens his mouth and shouts at her.

_I can’t do this._

There’s a flash in the corner of her eyes. Sayaka screams and jumps forward, her legs moving from adrenaline. By this point, Kaito has come down from his perch and grabbed her shoulders. He tugs her forward, kicks out at the Academia soldier inches from her – how could he have gotten so _close?_ – and leads her back up the hill. This time he doesn’t let go. Sayaka leans into his grip, thankful for the contact that keeps her mind focused on the present and not spinning anxious circles.

They both make it up a hill that becomes more familiar the further Sayaka climbs. The Duel Lodge glimmers like a benevolent beacon on this dark, dreary night, glowing with a heavenly light that encapsulates the rustic exterior. Outside, two duelists stand guard, duel disks engaged even if Heartland cannot fight back with the same, deadly technology.

Kaito says something to both guards, then to her, but Sayaka can only shrug. He seems to catch on to why she hasn’t said anything, and his grip on her shoulder relaxes and comes up to hold her ears. He says more, then nods; his hands grab hers and he leads her through two strong, oak doors and into the duel lodge.

Her first thought is, _Is this everyone?_

Her second thought is, _Where are my friends?_

There are perhaps one hundred people nestled in this lodge, though Sayaka suspects more survivors are being ushered into this sanctuary. Most of the duelists sit on cots next to one another, holding each other close as if these are the final moments of the world. Some of the survivors aren’t duelists: children, far younger than her, clinging to their parents and siblings.

Something shakes her shoulder and Sayaka’s eyes focus, though it’s hardly necessary when two arms then come to wrap around her and squeeze her tightly. Allen’s spiked hair pokes into her cheeks, but she relishes in the secure embrace until he lets go. He says something to her, but Kaito answers for her. Allen nods in understanding.

Sayaka is glad she can’t hear anything when she spots Shun come up, take one look at her, and then shout something at Kaito. He points at Sayaka, then next to her, perhaps where Ruri should be. Kaito doesn’t say anything, but his narrowed glance says it all: why didn’t Ruri make it? Allen says something too – they’re all talking about her now like she is invisible. Then Shun turns away and storms back to where Yuuto sits, eyes wide and glistening with unshed tears. Sayaka’s own tears drip steadily from her eyes.

_Dear Ruri. It’s me, Sayaka. We’ve all lost you._

* * *

The kaleidoscopic colours have faded from the world. Sayaka sits on the edge of the Resistance’s base in Ruri’s clothes, fingering the soft fabrics and many layers that Ruri insisted they both wear to give them a flowing appearance. Yuuto had grabbed clothes and necessities at the first sight of danger, and when he’d fled to the duel lodge with Shun, he’d expected to see his sister already there. Sayaka accepted the clothes when he’d told her she needed to get out of bed and get changed – “It’s been three days” – but these royal garments swallow her. It should be Ruri here, not her.

Across the courtyard, Sayaka spots the surviving duelists honing their skills. She can see Kaito and Shun and Yuuto, all three of them with their duel disks engaged, all three of them with murderous intent in their eyes. They’re fighting for revolution. Sayaka has never thought of dueling as a weapon of death and destruction; her own duel disk, shooting out like the wings of a butterfly, is a tool to bring smiles and happiness to others. That’s what she duels for: smiles. She _had_ thought the others would duel for similar reasons, just as they were all taught under Sakaki’s Yuushou’s gentle leadership, but now that he’s gone and Academia is here, Sayaka can see a far more devious intent brewing behind the eyes of the Resistance’s soldiers.

She pulls her knees up to her chest and shivers in the dew. She’s a survivor, but she’s hardly surviving.

When the cold air locks her joints and settles in her bones, she stumbles to her feet and trudges back to the Duel Lodge. There are only a few smiling faces in the camp, most of whom are overconfident duelists assured that they will drive Academia back to the Fusion Dimension. Sayaka herself cannot share in their excitement: Ruri is in the Fusion Dimension with _him_ . Her closest friend is missing; her remaining friends have enlisted as dimensional soldiers intent on _killing_ other duelists.

“Hey, Sayaka! You’re up!”

Sayaka flinches at the loud words – her ears have yet to heal, but instead of everything being oh so silent, it’s deafeningly loud. With a plate piled high with food, Allen grins over his meal. He doesn’t get Sayaka’s love for Sakaki Yuushou – he himself has abandoned the man as a pinnacle of any kind of realistic dueling ever since their teacher left before the Fusion Dimension attacks – but he still represents an honest form of dueling. He takes her to a table and sets the plate between them, offering up his meal even when Sayaka knows she could just get a second plate.

“I didn’t think I’d see you this early. Where were you?”

“Out,” she says, and takes a small bite of rice. “You?”

“Out,” he says, and grins through a mouthful of dumpling. “You wouldn’t _believe_ what happened yesterday. So Shun and Kaito and Yuuto and I were going through the forest looking for Academia soldiers, and we thought some might be patrolling around the camp. They were. Six of them, all tall and scrawny like they don’t feed them well over there, and they all had on these weird masks that made their eyes glow. Anyway, Kaito and Shun just started beating the _shit_ out of them: they went full-aggro on them, creamed them again and again. I think Shun even got one of the guy’s duel disks out and carded them – use their magic against them –”

Sayaka has heard too much of this. Her appetite is gone. She drops her fork to the plate.

Allen looks up and continues. “Yeah, it was kinda gross, but then they’ve done it to us. That doesn’t make it so bad.”

“That doesn’t make it _right_ ,” Sayaka hisses.

“But still –”

“You hunted Academia soldiers.” She swallows and one hands falls to her lap, knuckles clenched as white as her pallid face. “You went out and _hunted_ other duelists. That shouldn’t be what dueling is for –”

“I know, Sayaka, but still.”

“But _still_ you did it. You’re all doing it. Dueling isn’t a weapon. It isn’t meant to _hurt_ others.”

“They’re hurting us though!”

Sayaka shakes her head. “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

“So you’d rather they slaughter us while we keep smiling and preaching our nonviolent ways,” a voice says. Sayaka shivers; practice is over, and Kaito and the others have returned. Before this – before she lost Ruri – she remembers a boy just a few years older than her who had a lot of heart for hope and smiles. Before the invasion, Sayaka remembers Tenjou Kaito being one of Yuushou’s top students, eager to entertain others with his photon deck. Now he appears lethal, decked out in a dark leather jacket and combat boots. He’s still wearing his white tights, but by the way he’s crossing his arms, Sayaka can’t imagine this is the same Kaito.

Because on that day, Kaito lost someone too.

“You’re going to preach Sakaki’s style when you yourself aren’t even dueling,” he snarls.

“I meant –”

“You _meant_ to say that you’re dueling for a honest, albeit _pointless_ reason. These duelists, Sayaka, are not going to change with a bit of magic and happiness. They don’t duel for that reason, and neither do we. This is war, not a tournament.” He glances at Shun and Yuuto, who now seem to flank him, represent him. “This is the Resistance, not duel school, and the fights out here are real and deadly. You’re going to die if you follow in his footsteps.

Sayaka doesn’t rise; there’s no one to pull her away and shelter her from this backlash. She hears Allen say something like “Shove it, Kaito,” but it’s not uplifting, and Allen goes away after that and leaves his half-full plate of food for her to finish.

You can’t duel with smiles. You can’t duel like she’s been taught to duel – like _he’s_ been taught to duel because they were _in the same class_ – and it’s all because some foreign dimension has attacked Heartland. Their hunted like insects, wings plucked until all that remains are their helpless, hopeless carcasses. But that doesn’t mean that they should fight back, just as ruthless and violent as Academia. Sayaka knows that’s not how she wants to be remembered; she _knows_ that’s not what she’s fighting for.

She pushes the food away, stomach churning, and makes for her room. Every duelist in the hallway is marked with a red sash – the mark of the Resistance – tied across their arm. Sayaka’s own sash is fastened to her wrist with a purple butterfly-shaped pin: a birthday present from Ruri. She wishes she didn’t have to wear the sash in the first place, but both Kaito and Shun have explained to her that if she’s not wearing it, a Resistance troop might mistake her for an Academia spy and card her –

_Crash!_

The ground lurches forward, sending everyone tumbling into walls and other bodies. Sayaka hits the ground, feels the second tremor through her bones, and doesn’t bother to rise as the next round of attacks begins. Her ears ring with piercing screams from the squeaking metal of the Chaos Ancient Gear Giants; the monsters’ steps pulse with the panicked beating of her heart. Around her, Sayaka spots other duelists laying low, not bothering with getting up or escaping when it sounds like Academia hasn’t found them yet.

Then the room shakes once, twice, and above her the roof creaks and groans. Sayaka looks up to see the ceiling tilting towards the sky, robotic fingers hooked under the edge of the roof and prying the wood planks free. When the roof is half-off, a hand plunges into the dark depths, crashing into the opposing wall and narrowly missing two duelists who had scrambled out of the way. Sayaka can’t muffle her scream.

By this point, Sayaka can spot duelists running down the hallway. Even in the dark, their petrified faces are luminescent. Some even flee into rooms – anywhere to get away from the monsters ripping apart the ceiling. Sayaka can’t move though: her legs feel like lead and her arms shake with the ripples in the ground. Her hearing has gone once again, so if anyone is calling out to her, Sayaka can’t hear their pleas. She scrambles on her feet, drags herself maybe an inch forward, and then collapses to the ground.

_Help me!_ she says, but her lungs won’t work and her ears won’t work and her eyes blur the retreating shapes of the other duelists. _Save me!_ she tries to say, but no one turns around to help her.

And then something touches her, grabs her first by her Resistance sash, and then by her sleeve, and _tugs_ her to her feet. Sayaka flinches at the hands until she sees it’s Allen who’s come to rescue her. Sayaka remembers seeing him return to his room and not to the courtyard, so it appears he was among the fleeing duelists. He shouts in her face, and Sayaka covers her ears to let him know that she can’t hear anything. When he hands shake against her skull, fingers anxiously twirling in her purple locks, his hands come up to cover hers.

He says something with a genuine smile, and then pulls her forward. Sayaka lets him take her down the hallway and back into the cafeteria. The walls bend and morph as the Gear Giants deconstruct the Duel Lodge; Sayaka spots a dash of royal blue and she shivers at the thought of coming face to face with an Academia soldier.

However, Allen is nimble: he ducks behind chairs and tables, and tall pillars that once held up the vast ceiling of the Lodge. His grip is firm: he doesn’t let go until they are out of the cafeteria and into the open air, and only then it’s because he stops to activate his duel disk. Sayak’s eyes widen. _No!_ She thinks. _Don’t! That will make us no better than them._ She reaches out to grab his hands and pull them away, but Allen is faster and throws his arm back. He shouts something at her, and this time his eyebrows are pinched together and his lips are pulled back in a snarl. He shakes the duel disk at her for emphasis before activating the weapon. The blade of the disk shoots out and glows crimson in the muddy light.

_Please, no_ , Sayaka tries to say.

Allen dashes off ahead of her, not grabbing her hand but sparing her a second to catch up with him. He swerves between trees and under dangling overgrowth that appears as ghostly hands reaching down to take them away. Sayaka tries to pull Allen back in case Academia spots his duel disk, but Allen – just like Ruri – is adamant that they will be OK. They slip down the hill to the training grounds, then through another thicket of forest. Sayaka wants to ask where Allen is going, but she imagines that wherever he’s leading her is safety.

That is, until something grabs her loose robes and tugs her back; Sayaka opens her mouth and prays that her screams are heard. They are: Allen spins around as two soldiers grab her. The soldiers aren’t even older than Sayaka: they’re ten at most, wearing a baggy uniform that could have belonged to one of their siblings. Their eyes are wide with terror, not menace, but their glowing duel disks end in a deadly point that makes Sayaka swallow. Sayaka has never seen an Academia duel disk up close, but its technology is on-par with what the Resistance has put together: a sleek, sturdy body for holding cards, and an arcing blade shaped like a sword. The body holds a large touch screen that would display the user’s life points and set cards during a duel; next to it is a smaller button, one Sayaka is unfortunately familiar with, and she shivers as the duelist’s hands ghost over it.

The duelists begin to talk. They smile when they shouldn’t and their red eyes glimmer in the dusk. They activate their duel disks, but instead of dueling, they aim their weapons at Allen and hover their hand over the button. At the same time, Allen pulls up his own duel disk. Weapons drawn, Sayaka flinches at the showdown. Resistance versus Academia. Xyz versus Fusion.

_No_ , she wants to say. _No, don’t hurt each other. You’re not dueling. This isn’t what dueling should be used for. You learned that – we_ all _learned that!_

Another earth tremor, this time coming from the duel monsters that are tearing apart the Duel Lodge, off-balances each of the  duelists. The motion also lifts the soldier’s hands from Sayaka, and despite her frozen fear, she throws herself forward and towards Allen. Her ears ring from the motion, but this time she can hear snippets of dialogue: citizens screaming, soldiers shouting, Allen –

“Sayaka! Come on! Move!” He shoves her forward and towards the forest, away from the Academia troops who get their bearings back and charge at them. Sayaka screams and dashes foward, feet hitting the dusty earth. Her vision spins as she runs deeper into the forest, Allen hot on her heels.

Adrenaline pumps through her veins. She tears through the forest, but soon has to slow  her pace; the forest floor breaks into tangled vines and rough ground that catch on her toes and ankles. She trips over a broken branch, stumbling forward into Allen.

“Sayaka!” she hears him say, but his next words are muted over the sound of the soldiers screaming, “Xyz scum!” A soldier’s small hands grab at her and yank her back; she crashes into the taller Academia soldier and sends them both to the ground. At once, she pulls away. She kicks outwards, but at the groan of the soldier, she flinches and instead screams.

By this point, Allen has turned back for her. Sayaka hears him scream her name, charging after her. The other soldier cut him off through: he hits Allen with a fist to the gut, sending the boy keeling over into the ground. The attack appears to leave Allen winded; he groans, instinctively curling into himself and pressing a hand gingerly across his gut. Sayaka spots the tears pricking in his normally bright eyes.

“Allen! Allen, help!”

He doesn’t raise his head. The Academia soldier comes forward, fingers inches away from the trigger.

_No._ Sayaka pulls forward, shouting and screaming for Allen to rise. _Wake up! Wake up!_

A blinding pink light erupts from the duel disk, shooting across the field before hitting Allen square in the chest. Allen’s body bursts into pink sparkles, glowing brighter than the sun until Sayaka is forced to look away. The air smells of thick smoke; as the glow dims, Sayaka sees the empty, untouched place where Allen once lay. Paces away, the other spot is empty.

There were two pink lights.

Realisation dawns on Sayaka – they’re _both_ gone – and she pulls away before the Academia soldier assumes she can card others too. His weapon is inches from her face.

If she pressed the button, would it reach him?

Could she hurt him?

_Can_ she hurt him?

The duel disk wrenches around to face her; attached to the arm of the soldier, Sayaka can see the red eyes glowing at her. The whirring of the machine startles her when the duel disk begins to glow. But then something within her _moves_ . It’s not sentient, not anything that she’s been harbouring for ages and has finally burst for, but it’s been a gradual evolution built up by small encounters. Sayaka herself has felt the shift, acknowledged it with a gentle nod, but now she grabs the duel disk with both hands and pulls. The wrist strap catches on the soldier’s cufflinks before it comes free with a _pop!_ Sayaka tumbles backwards, screams as the machine glow brighter and brighter, red-hot in her shaking hands –

And she throws it. It lands not two feet away, but aimed far away from anyone, the pink light only casts on empty soil.

Sayaka heaves a breath as the machine powers down. The forest grows dark. She turns to see the Academia soldier scrambling backwards, presumably too scared that she’ll pull the trigger on _him_. But she won’t. She can’t. She’s fighting, spreading her wings like a butterfly, but she’s not hurting.

_Allen ..._

She crouches before the duel disk, before the place where Allen had been just moments ago, looking at her.

_Thanks to you, I’ve come to my senses …_

She holds the butterfly-shaped pin in her hands. It’s the mark of her own resistance – her _peaceful_ resistance – and she won’t back down.

_If I’m going to fight …_

Fingers ghost over the cold metal of the duel disk. She sees the trigger, tucked behind the large, pink sensor of the machine, and with a piercing scream, she smashes her hand down on the machine. Naturally, the metal doesn’t break, but the holographic screen crackles before flickering off. This isn’t her weapon; she won’t hurt another duelist. But ...

_I’ll fight until the_ end.


End file.
